News digest: Flipkart-Walmart deal, Labour law violation, NBFCs, and more

Walmart is picking up close to 75 per cent in Flipkart, sources said. Walmart, traditionally a brick and mortar giant, is investing $15 billion in the Bengaluru firm

1. India set for largest M&A deal today: Walmart to buy Flipkart for $15 bn

A day ahead of the announcement of the Walmart-Flipkart deal, the largest through the M&A route and marking the American firm’s real entry into India, both organisations were in waiting. The Flipkart campus at Bengaluru’s Embassy Tech Village was dressing up for a town hall meeting with Carl Douglas McMillon, president and chief executive officer of Walmart Inc, while preparing to shed the life of a start-up. The Gurugram headquarters of Walmart India too was busy setting things up for a similar meeting with Doug, as the CEO of the Bentonville major is popularly known as.

Doug, accompanied by his top team including president and chief executive of Walmart International Judith McKenna, and CEO ecommerce Marc Lore, has flown in from the US already to seal the deal with Flipkart. Read more...

2. Labour law violation: Truant CEOs may have to do community work

Some chief executives of companies might soon be on the streets cleaning public spaces, painting walls or serving the poor, not for charity, but as punishment for violating the country’s social security laws.

The draft labour code on social security 2018, prepared by the labour and employment ministry, has proposed the concept of a ‘community service order’, which is a common practice abroad. The law will enable courts to direct businessmen and workers to do unpaid work in the community. Read more...

3. NBFCs scoop up talent from banking industry amid rising growth

Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are recruiting in droves and scooping up talent from competitors long considered a notch or two above.

According to industry estimates, 60-70 per cent of the NBFC hires in the last year are from the banking industry. And there is a good reason for that.

While banks are struggling to come out of the bad loan mess, NBFCs are in a sweet spot of rising consumer demand, strong rural cash flows and growth in commercial vehicles and housing finance. What is more, chucking a banking job for a domestic NBFC is not a taboo any more. Read more...

4. Videocon loan case: Govt nominee to stay away from ICICI Bank board meet

The government nominee on the board of ICICI Bank might continue to skip meetings till it receives feedback from investigative agencies and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the allegations of conflict of interest against its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Chanda Kochhar, related to loans worth Rs 32.5 billion extended to the Videocon group of companies.

The government is of the view that it is a minority stakeholder on the board of ICICI Bank and can be overruled by the private bank's board as investigating agencies are yet to establish conflict of interest in the case. The government holds 10.8 million shares in ICICI Bank, which translates into a 0.22 per cent stake. Read more...

5. Iran nuclear deal: Trump announces US withdrawal, reinstates sanctions

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the withdrawal of the landmark Iran nuclear deal, an Obama-era accord which he has repeatedly criticised and signed a fresh set of sanctions against the country.

Trump also warned countries against any cooperation with Iran on its nuclear weapons programme.

"It is clear to me that we cannot prevent Iran's nuclear bomb. The Iran deal is defective at its core. Therefore, I am announcing today that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal," Trump said. Read more...